22 April 2016

MAISA Women's Championship

On Friday, April 22nd, Victoria Restivo, Katie Combaluzier, Christina Black, and Simone Larose made their way from Kingston to Geneva, New York, to race in the MAISA Women’s Championship at Hobart & William Smith Colleges. The girls passed the time well in the car and made it to Geneva in time for dinner at Parker’s Grill. Sitting at the front of the restaurant, the sailors had a fun time surrounded by other young people and good vibes!

For the weekend, the ladies stayed at America’s Best Value Inn, which was conveniently close to one of few Tim Horton’s in the United States. For breakfast, the sailors naturally woke up and proceeded to grab bagels at the hotel before getting a taste of home at Timmies! Christina described the girl’s experience over the weekend.

Approaching the venue required navigating down a steep downhill towards the lake, where the boathouse was located without any running water, change rooms, or toilets. We had to get used to the port-a-potties, but it was a great venue with fantastic weather!

On the water, it was extremely puffy on Saturday, with gusts coming from the north-east. The wind varied between 11 and 17 knots. We learned to play the puffs as quickly as possible in order to stay ahead in the fleet. We consistently performed around the middle of the fleet, struggling as we got used to being on the water in 420s again. As we adjusted to the conditions and got comfortable in the boats again, we performed better.

On Saturday night, we went out for dinner at Eddie O’Briens, which was just up the street and to the right of Parkers. It was delicious and we’d definitely recommend it if you’re in the area! We rested early since we knew we’d need it to try to climb the rankings on Sunday.

The next morning, we once again went to Tim Horton’s for breakfast, then proceeded to the boat house only to have racing postponed due to a lack of wind. We only got one rotation in, with the wind constantly shifting, but were also able to take time to soak up the sun and relax! We finished 12th place overall, out of 16 teams. It was a very competitive regatta, with women from several distinguished US schools sailing extremely well; it was a great experience for the four of us. We’re also sad to say that this regatta was Katie Combaluzier’s last regatta as a Queen’s Gael, and wish her the best of luck in future endeavors!